Three Days
by NaomiMiller
Summary: Can you really be in love after only Three Days? Hermione and Charlie are about to find out.
1. The Arrival

**A/N: So apparently I have a thing about Hermione and the Weasley men. No idea why. Thought I'd give this pairing a try since I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for about a month now. For those of you who may recognize this, it's posted on my HarryPotterFanFiction account as well. DISCLAIMER: Any thing, one, or place you may recognize belongs solely to JK Rowling. Enjoy!**

Time: 3 years after the Battle at Hogwarts

**Hermione**

It was 12:30 in the morning when Hermione apparated to the Burrow. Her work at the Ministry had taken longer had taken longer than she originally thought it would. Not that it mattered what time she arrived since she knew there would be one there to greet her. The Weasley's had left to go visit relatives in Ireland and no one was expected back at the Burrow for another three or four days. Mrs. Weasley had told Hermione to go ahead and stay the weekend when her vacation from her job in the Department of Mysteries started. Hermione was grateful for the invitation. She had been looking forward to this vacation for months now. It had been a while since she had seen the people she considered her second family for any extended period of time.

Hermione let herself in with the spell Mrs. Weasley had told her when she first started coming to the Burrow. Even in the dim moonlight that was filtering through the windows, she could see everything was still the same as when she had first come here with Harry and Ron ten years ago. So much has changed in those ten years, she thought to herself as she climbed the stairs to one of the empty rooms left vacant by the three Weasley brothers who had moved out.

They had seen the rise of Lord Voldermort and then they had brought him down. They had fought and laughed and loved together. They had lost old friends, but made new ones. They had seen death and destruction, but they had also seen life and hope. It was still hard to believe everything that had happened.

Now they were all out on their own. Harry and Ginny had gotten married last year. Harry, along with Ron, worked as an Auror. Hermione would see the two of them occasionally at the Ministry when they were between assignments. Ginny worked at Hogwarts as the new flying coach and Quidditch referee since Madam Hooch had retired this past spring. George still ran the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop in Diagon Alley that he and Fred had started before the War. He and Angelina Johnson were married and expecting their first child. As for Hermione, she loved her job working in the legal division of the Department of Mysteries. She hadn't found anyone to settle down with yet, but she wasn't in any particular hurry. She was only 21 after all.

She reached the room she had been looking for and pushed the door open. When her the light from her wand illuminated the room all her thoughts vanished as she screamed.

The figure that had been sprawled across the bed bolted upright so fast that they toppled off with a "Bloody hell!" As they got to their feet Hermione aimed her wand at them without even thinking about it. Battle reflexes are hard things to break. When she finally got a look at who it was she was even more surprised. Then noticing something else about that person she blushed and turned away.

It was Charlie Weasley and he was completely naked.

**Charlie**

Charlie had a month's leave from Romania that he planned on using to surprise his family with a long overdue visit. From recent letters he knew that they were away in Ireland at the moment so he figured he would get home early to surprise them when they got back.

He had arrived at the Burrow earlier that day, just as the sun was getting ready to set. It was an odd sensation being the only one in the house. Usually whenever he was here he was surrounded by the unending chaos of his eight other family members. Of course, he often contributed to the chaos himself. He had to admit that it was good to be back here again. It had been over a year since he had last been home. It wasn't until he was back that Charlie realized how much he had missed this place.

He had taken a walk around outside, marveling at how quiet it was. The dragon sanctuary he worked at could be called many things, but quiet was not one of them. He had come back in for a dinner of a turkey sandwich before heading up to his old room and collapsing into bed. He was exhausted having had to wrangle a belligerent Hungarian Horntail before he could leave for the day. Within moments he was sound asleep.

He had been asleep for four hours when he was jolted out of bed by someone screaming. He swore and bolted upright, thinking he was still on the dragon reserve and someone was in trouble. As he sat up though, he very unceremoniously fell on the floor making him realize that he wasn't on the reserve after all. They didn't have rugs there. Charlie picked himself up off the floor with a groan and turned to face the figure that was standing in the doorway, illuminated by wandlight.

It was a young woman dressed in Ministry robes that only served to isolate the beauty of her face. Her unruly brown hair was pulled back away from her face showing off the curve of her jawline and revealing the lines of her throat. She looked vaguely familiar, but Charlie couldn't place her.

Before he could say anything, the girl blushed furiously and turned away from him. Charlie was confused by her strange reaction until he looked down and realized that he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. He vaguely remembered stripping off his sweaty clothes from the reserve before collapsing into bed earlier.

"I'm sorry I didn't think anyone was home. Ron told me that the family was gone to see relatives," she said as he grabbed a pair of sweatpants and pulled them on.

As soon as she mentioned Ron, it clicked into place as to why she looked so familiar. She was Hermione Granger, one of his youngest brother's best friends. She had changed quite a bit since the last time that he had seen her.

"You can turn back around now," he told her after he pulled a shirt on over his head, "I'm decent."

He watched as she slowly turned around to face him. She seemed much more at ease now that he was properly dressed.

"I was unaware that there was going to be anyone else here either," he said sitting down on the edge of the bed. She leaned back against the door frame.

"I only just got in a few minutes ago," she explained. "I didn't know there would be anyone here. I was just on my way to find an empty spare room, but obviously this one's taken so I'll just be going." Charlie had to smile at her rambling as she turned and left the room. He watched her go with an amused look before going back to bed. It was certainly turning out to be an interesting trip home.

**Hermione**

Hermione made her way up one more flight of stairs to the other spare room. Before she entered she muttered a spell to make sure that it was empty. Satisfied that it was, she went in and dropped her beaded bag on the bed. She changed out of her work robes and into the pair of shorts and old Gryffindor Quidditch jersey that she had borrowed one night when she made an emergency stopover at the Burrow. It was so comfortable that she had slept in it ever since.

Once she was comfortable, Hermione crawled into bed. As she fell asleep, her last thought was that Charlie Weasley had a nice body.

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Whatever? Leave a comment/review please! As always they are MUCH appreciated and highly beneficial to the well being of my story.**


	2. Testing the Waters Pt 1

**_A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and hallelujah another chapter! Only took me seven months. My gift to all my lovely readers, now that I am on Christmas Break from the semester from Hell. I decided instead of doing one day for each chapter, to split the days into parts because otherwise they would all end up being somewhere around five miles long. DISCLAIMER: Any thing, one, or place you may recognize belongs solely to JK Rowling. Enjoy!_**

**Hermione**

The next morning, Hermione woke to the sun streaming through the window and the smell of pancakes wafting up the stairs. It smelled like heaven. She shoved the covers aside and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Hermione grabbed her beaded bag and pulled out her hairbrush and a pair of socks. Putting the Undetectable Extension Charm on this bag had been one of the best ideas she'd ever had. She ran the brush through her bushy hair that she had halfway tamed and wrangled it into a single braid that fell over one shoulder before pulling on her socks and heading downstairs.

When she reached the kitchen she found Charlie at the stove, expertly flipping the pancakes that were cooking in the pan. He was barefoot and wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt that showed off his broad shoulders. As if sensing her gaze, he looked back at her over his shoulder as she walked in.

"Morning," he greeted her, turning back to the pan.

"Morning," Hermione returned. It was a little strange talking to him since she had never really spent any time with the second eldest Weasley. She watched as with a wave of his wand he sent plates and silverware to set two places at one end of the long Weasley table.

"If you want to have a seat, breakfast will be ready in a few moments," he told her. A man who can cook, Hermione thought as she sat down at one of the places, I'm impressed. As she sat there at the table, Hermione watched Charlie move around the kitchen. The sun coming through the window caught his mussed hair that was the characteristic Weasley red, making it look as if his head was on fire. His tanned skin (an oddity amongst the fair-skinned Weasley's) was generously sprinkled with freckles brought about by working outside all the time. He had a well-toned, muscular body and Hermione couldn't help but wonder about what it would feel like to have those strong arms holding her. She shook her head to clear these thoughts away as he put the last of the pancakes on a plate and brought them over to the table.

"Smells good," she commented as he sat across from her. "However you apparently take after your mother when you cook."

"Oh, how so?" Charlie said looking at her with raised eyebrows.

Hermione looked pointedly at the mountain of pancakes in front of her. He glanced at it and grinned sheepishly.

"Well she was the one who taught me how to cook. Small portions were never her specialty, even when it was just me and Bill."

Hermione thought back to all the Weasley meals she had ever attended and had to agree. Whenever Molly Weasley made a meal you had best come armed with a healthy appetite.

"I also pull the occasional shift in the mess hall on the reserve so I'm used to cooking for quite a few people," he admitted as he speared a few pancakes with his fork and slapped them on his plate. Hermione followed suit, drizzling syrup over them before digging in. It was like a bite of buttery heaven. They seemed to just melt in her mouth.

"Mmmmm, these pancakes are amazing!" she exclaimed to Charlie.

"You sound surprised," he said with a grin. He had a sexy grin. Stop it, she thought to herself, he's too old for you anyways. Another voice in her head argued seven years isn't really that much of an age gap. Hermione decided she really needed to find some way to stop this mental bickering before she really did go crazy.

"I am, you just don't seem like the cooking type," she replied mopping up some excess syrup with a square of pancake. "That and I've tastes Ron's cooking before and let's say that I was less than impressed though I would never tell him that."

Charlie laughed, "No, my brother has many talents, but cooking is certainly not one of them." Charlie crooked an eyebrow at her as he chewed on the end of his fork, "So what type do I seem like?"

She tapped her fork on her bottom lip thoughtfully as she looked at him across the table. Merlin the man was gorgeous.

"Well, you're definitely a man of action, you're an adrenaline junkie, you love the outdoors, and working with your hands. You just don't seem like the kind of guy to do house chores like cooking," she told him.

"Why can't I be both?"

"I-I-I don't know." She honestly couldn't think of an answer for that question.

"Amazing, I've stumped the great Hermione Granger. That must be a first," he said chuckling at her.

"Don't get used to it," she warned him. Hermione caught herself wondering at how at ease she felt with Charlie. She had really only spent a handful of times in the second eldest Weasley's company before, the longest of them being the time they were all at the Quidditch World Cup. None of those times had really been long enough to get to know anything about the other. A majority of the time she had spent at the Weasely's, Charlie had been in Romania at the dragon reserve. Even during the war, the only time she had seen him had been at the final battle on the grounds of Hogwarts when he had been helping with the aftermath. This was the first time she had ever had a real conversation beyond her questioning him about his work. There was something about him that made her instantly relax. She felt free to be herself. She kind of liked it. Suddenly, she realized that Charlie was asking her something.

"Sorry, what was that?"

He grinned at her, "Off in space were we? I was just asking what you plans were for the day?"

"Oh I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it," Hermione said with a shrug. "Probably just hang around here, maybe read a book."

"How'd I know a book would enter into the equation somewhere," Charlie teased as he stood and gathered up their dirty dishes. He deposited them into the sink and set the brush, rag, and soap to scrubbing and rinsing them.

"One of the best things Mum ever taught me," he said watching the dishes. "It's a real time saver. Still don't trust myself on sending them back to the cabinets though. I still manage to break several every time. One time I found myself completely without dishes because I somehow managed to crash them all into either each other or the cabinets." Hermione fought back a laugh at the morose expression on his face. He turned away from the sink and walked back over to the table, leaning his elbows on the back of the chair he had just vacated.

"Anyways, do you want to go down to the village with me today? I was planning on doing some shopping. You can help me with the Muggle currency. There's a really good pub down there where we could stop for lunch along with a few places you might enjoy."

Hermione considered the offer for a moment, then nodded, "Sure, I'd love to. To be honest I don't think I've ever been down there."

"Excellent, oh and you will probably want to dress warmly, it snowed again last night," he told her smiling.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as well as she left the kitchen.

**Charlie**

Charlie had been shocked when Hermione had come downstairs for breakfast. He had never thought he would find his little brother's bookish friend attractive, but seeing her standing in the kitchen this morning, he most certainly had. Standing in the early morning light wearing nothing more than an old Quidditch jersey, revealed to be his upon closer inspection, and a pair of shorts Charlie thought she just might be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The fact that it was his jersey she was wearing just made it even better. He had taken a good look at her shapely legs before forcing himself back to the task of finishing breakfast. The last time he had spent any real time with the wild-haired witch had been at the Quidditch World Cup. She had gotten him into what turned out to be a lengthy discussion on dragons and reserves and magical creatures. He remembered being impressed by the vast amount of knowledge she possessed for someone her age. Ron's periodic letters had been right in saying that she was quite brilliant.

Throughout their conversation over breakfast this morning, he had found himself wanting to know more about Hermione Granger, which is why he invited her down to the village today. With that thought in mind, Charlie retrieved the dishes from the sink and stored them in their places before heading upstairs to change.

Twenty minutes later he was perched on the arm of the couch in the living room flipping through one of Ginny's Quidditch magazines waiting on Hermione. He always wondered how Muggles got by with those still portraits of theirs. They were rather boring.

He was engrossed in an article about a new line of Fire Bolts when Hermione finally came downstairs. He set the magazine aside and looked up, deciding it most certainly had been worth the wait.

Her dark brown hair was still tamed into a braid that now fell out from underneath a dark green woolen cap that matched the turtleneck she wore underneath her navy blue peacoat. Her dark blue skinny jeans were tucked into a pair of knee-high brown, leather boots. She looked stunning. Charlie didn't know exactly what was going on, but he thought he might possibly be falling in love.

"Charlie?"

He snapped out of his thoughts as he realized she had been speaking to him. Merlin, she must think him daft for just standing there, staring at her like he had.

"Yeah?"

She smiled at him uncertainly, "I was asking if you were ready to go?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry I was off in my own little world," he covered before offering her his arm. "Shall we be off then?"

"We shall," she laughed, taking his arm. Together they left the Burrow and headed for the snowy village down the hill.

**Hermione**

_I've never actually been down here before_, Hermione thought as they walked the white streets. Not once in all the ten years I've been visiting the Weasleys.

It reminded her of a slightly larger, Muggle version of Hogsmeade with its shops, pubs, alleys, and houses. It was really a quite pretty town. People nodded to them as they passed, oftentimes offering a word or two in greeting. Charlie and Hermione politely returned the greetings before continuing on.

Hermione felt like it was the most natural thing in the world to be walking arm-in-arm like this with Charlie. It was like they had been friends for years. She looked over at her companion. He wore a dark yellow cap that clashed brilliantly with his characteristic Weasley red hair. He had on one of Mrs. Weasley's infamous jumpers in the same color emblazoned with a maroon C underneath a brown dragon hide jacket. His worn jeans covered the tops of his sturdy winter boots. He really was quite handsome. At that moment he turned to look at her.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, just thinking you look like a walking recruitment for Gryffindor," she teased.

He looked down at what he was wearing, "I do, now that you mention it. I guess some things never leave you."

"Definitely won't lose you in a crowd that's for sure." He laughed. He had a wonderful laugh.

"No that you won't. Ah here we are," he said stopping in front of one of the shops along the main road. He let go of her arm and opened the door for her. Hermione stepped inside and the first thing she noticed was the smell of old paper. The entire shop was lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves. Dust motes floated in the light coming in through the windows. It looked like paradise.

"I thought you might like it," he said taking in the look on her face.

She merely shot him a dry look as an answer. He grinned.

"You thought I might like an old bookstore?" she said glancing at him with a saucy smile as she moved towards the shelves. "That's like saying someone thought you might like a baby dragon."

Charlie laughed as she had hoped he would. They both remembered their first meeting on the top of the Astronomy Tower in Hermione's first year at Hogwarts. The Golden Trio had been helping Hagrid smuggle an illegal dragon hatchling off school grounds before someone found out about it. Ron had contacted one of his five older brothers, Charlie, who worked on a dragon reserve in Romania. Hermione had thought that sounded like such an exotic and interesting job. She still did. When Charlie and his friends had finally arrived on their broomsticks, Hermione had thought he was the very image of roguish charm.

Charlie looked like he was about to say something, but just then the shop proprietor, a middle-ages man with graying, shaggy blonde-hair wear a tweed suit over a t-shirt and jeans, found them. He cracked a brilliant smile when he saw the pair of them standing there.

"Charlie! How are you my dear fellow?" he bellowed, slapping Charlie on the back. "What's it been since I last saw you? A little over a year now?"

Charlie nodded as he shook the man's hand, "Somewhere around there."

The man cracked another smile and Hermione found herself wondering if it was possible for a person to have that many teeth in their head. She swore they seemed to stretch for miles. She was brought back to the present when that toothy grin was pointed in her direction.

"And you've brought a lady friend with you I see. About time I say." He gave a scarlet Hermione a conspiratorial wink while Charlie tried to sputter out an explanation that they were only friends. Finally he just gave up.

"Ah bollocks it all, Hermione meet Mr. Winston Galagher Thurgood IV. Winston, meet Miss Hermione Granger, a good friend of the family who is visiting on holiday," Charlie said making the introductions.

"A pleasure Mr. Thurgood," Hermione said extending her hand. "You have quite the collection here."

"Call me Winston my dear, and thank you." He took her offered hand and kissed the back of it in a gentlemanly fashion that Hermione had thought died out long ago.

"Winston here is helping me improve my collection of books on dragons and dragon lore," Charlie explained to her.

"Really?" It didn't surprise Hermione to find out that Charlie would be well studied on dragons and such, but it did surprise her that his pursuit of knowledge would take him so far as to look outside of the magical world. Good looking and an intellectual. The man was a lethal combination.

"Oh yes. Your lad here is quite the mythology whiz here with mythological creatures, especially the dragons." Hermione felt her face go red again at the mention of Charlie as "her lad". She wished that was true, but she was just his little brother's bookish friend. He was probably just being friendly.

Charlie cut in before Winston could say anymore. "Which is the other reason that I wanted to stop in besides showing Hermione one of my favorite places in town. Have you gotten anything new in recently?"

Winston shook a crooked finger at him, "I have quite the stockpile for you. Been keeping an eye out for anything I thought you might have an interest in. We'll leave Miss Granger here to peruse the shelves as she so desperately wants to do." Hermione looked at him sheepishly.

"Is it that obvious?"

Winston smiled at her indulgently, "My dear your face was practically shouting it at me. Don't let us two lazy old men hold you up. Go explore." He waved her off into the heavenly looking maze of shelves. Hermione willingly obliged as he led Charlie to the stock room.

**Charlie**

Charlie had been delighted when Hermione had accepted his invitation to come with him into town this morning. The walk down the road to the village had been companionable. It had just felt right having Hermione on his arm. He found himself wondering at how quickly he had taken a fancy to the young witch. Of course, there was plenty to like about her. She was incredibly bright, funny, and strong-willed. She knew her own mind, which was a trait he liked in women. She wasn't hard on the eyes either, he had to admit as he stole a glance at her. Her chocolate brown eyes were bright in a face that was flushed from the cold. Her jacket and jeans hugged her in all the right places. Her pull lips were quirked up at the ends in a peaceful smile as she took in the freshly fallen snow that had come down overnight.

Charlie decided to head for the bookshop first when they came to the outskirts of town. He wanted to see if Winston had anything good to add to his growing library. He also had a feeling Hermione would enjoy it in her seemingly endless quest for knowledge. The look on her face when they entered told him he had been right.

The Twice Upon a Time bookstore was perhaps one of his favorite places in town with its dusty shelves, wood paneling, and mismatched mix of overstuffed armchairs. A lot of people when they looked at Charlie assumed he wasn't much of one for books, but really he loved them, especially the old Muggle fairytales and mythology about magical creatures. It was interesting, some of the things he read about magical creatures that he had worked with at some point or the other. Some of it was surprisingly accurate, while others had him laughing hysterically at how outrageous they were. He also enjoyed good action or adventure novels along with the occasion suspense or mystery novel of either the Muggle or the Wizarding kind. Charlie could remember coming to Twice Upon a Time when he was a kid and Winston had been open for about a year or so. In fact, all the fairytales and myths he read growing up are what got him interested in magical creatures to begin with. Now he could share that magic with Hermione.

"I thought you might like it," he told her with one of his infectious grins. She merely shot him a dry look.

"You thought I might like an old bookstore?" she said laughingly. Charlie thought she had a wonderful smile. "That's like saying someone thought you might like a baby dragon."

Charlie laughed. He knew she was referencing their first encounter ten years ago atop the Hogwarts Astronomy Tower. She had been a buck-toothed first year with the wildest hair Charlie had ever seen. He had been eighteen and newly hired as an apprentice dragon tamer on a reserve in Romania. He had been surprised to get a letter from Ron one day asking if he could help them with a baby dragon Hagrid had somehow gotten a hold of. Charlie agreed, certain he didn't want to know the whole story behind it all. He convinced a couple of his fellow tamers, Lars and Mat, to make the midnight rescue with him.

When they arrived they found Ron and two other first-years waiting for them with a juvenile Norwegian Ridgeback in a cage between them. Charlie assumed correctly that the other two were Ron's friends Hermione Granger and the famous Harry Potter. His friends had been more interested in Harry, which was only natural considering it was wasn't every day that you met an eleven-year-old who had already defeated the darkest wizard of the magical world before he was barely even old enough to talk. Charlie though had found himself watching his brother's quieter, more studious friend who watched all the proceedings with an openly curious air about her. There wasn't much about her that stood out, but something caught his attention. Maybe it was the way that his brother was looking at her like she was a cool oasis and he was a dying man in the desert. Even then he could tell Ron was in love with Hermione, even it did take his brother another six years before he admitted it.

Charlie was brought back to the present by the emergence of Winston from one of the backrooms of the shop. The man's face split into a brilliant grin when he saw them standing there.

"Charlie! My dear fellow," he bellowed, slapping him soundly on the back, "What's it been now since I last saw you? A little over a year ago?"

"Yeah, somewhere around there."

Winston cracked another one of his characteristic grins as he turned his focus on Hermione who had been watching the two of them curiously. He gave Charlie an approving look.

"And you brought a lady friend with you I see. About time I say." He gave Hermione a roguish wink that turned her an even more charming shade of scarlet. Charlie wished Winston had the right of it. He tried to get out an explanation that they were only friends, but nothing coherent seemed to be able to form on his tongue. Finally he just gave up. Let Winston think what he will. He made the necessary introductions instead.

"Hermione meet Mr. Winston Galagher Thurgood IV. Winston meet Miss Hermione Granger, a good friend of the family who is visiting on holiday."

Hermione extended her hand towards the man, "A pleasure Mr. Thurgood. You have quite the collection here."

"Call me Winston my dear, and thank you," he said taking her hand and kissing it.

"Winston here is helping me add to my collection of books about dragons and dragon lore," Charlie explained. She merely looked interested at this statement. Her acceptance of the fact that he did actually read and owned books, brought her up another notch in his esteem.

"Really?"

"Oh yes, your lad here is quite the whiz with mythological creatures, especially the dragons," Winston chipped in. Charlie noted how red Hermione turned at the "your lad" bit. Interesting.

Seeing Winston start to settle in on the topic of his pursuits Charlie jumped into the conversation to cut him off and steer him back to business.

"Which is the other reason that I wanted to stop in besides wanting to show Hermione one of my favorite places in town. Have you gotten anything new in recently?"

Winston shook one of his gnarled fingers at him, "I have quite the stockpile for you. Been keeping an eye out for anything I thought you might like. We'll leave Miss Granger to peruse the shelves as she so desperately wants to do." Charlie had notices her gaze wandering around shop while he and Winston stood there talking. He could almost feel how badly her hands were itching to pillage the shelves. She grinned sheepishly at them. Charlie thought she looked like a little kid who had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Is it that obvious?"

Winston smiled indulgently at her, "My dear your face was practically shouting it at me. Don't let us two lazy, old men hold you up. Go explore." He waved her off into the labyrinth of shelves and chairs. Hermione gladly accepted his offer and soon disappeared into the towering shelves of books. Winston led Charlie into the Acquisitions Room.

"I like your girlfriend Charlie, she's quite the catch."

"She's not my girlfriend Winston. She a good friend of my brother Ron, who's visiting like I said earlier," Charlie explained as the man began digging through boxes.

Winston looked up at him with a speculative look, "How good a friend?"

"As in they were dating for a year before they mutually decided they were better off as friends."

"So she's single then?"

Charlie shrugged, "As far as I know, yeah."

"Well then what are you waiting for? It's clear as day to me that you like the girl."

Charlie leaned against the desk that sat in a corner of the room and folded his arms over his chest. "I don't know, because there's a seven year age gap between us, because I've only really just gotten to know her, because I spend most of my time halfway around the world, because she's my little brother's ex-girlfriend…Take your pick." He took his hat off and ran a hand through his unruly hair. He really needed to get it cut.

"Those just sound like excuses to me," Winston told him as he moved on to another box. "Quit trying to talk yourself out of it."

"I'm not trying to talk myself out of anything. I don't think she's interested in me besides."

His friend straightened up and fixed Charlie with a don't-give-me-any-bullshit look. "Tell me, do you like her?"

"Yes, quite a bit."

"Does she make you feel good?"

"Yes," he said thinking of how natural it felt to be with her.

"Is she one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen?"

Charlie thought back over the last few hours to seeing Hermione come downstairs in his Quidditch jersey and then walking with her down to the village. "Yes."

"Well then I don't see what the problem is. Go for it. You may just be surprised. Chances like this don't come around every day you know."

"What if she rejects me?"

"First of all, she'd be crazy to reject you, second of all if she does, then she rejects you but at least you can say you gave it a shot rather than letting it slip by you. Honestly it amazes me that a firefighter who runs into burning buildings and other dangerous situations for a living can't even get the courage up to ask a woman out."

"This one's particularly terrifying. I don't want to mess anything up because…because I think she might be The One." Even Charlie was surprised by those words. He had never really given much thought to marriage even though his mother was pestering him relentlessly now that most all of his other siblings were married. Ginny finally married Harry last year. George had married his long-time girlfriend Angelina almost immediately following the Battle at Hogwarts. Percy and Bill had gotten married first within almost three months of each other, sending his mother into fits of wedding planning glee. First Bill married the Veela woman Fleur Delacour. Between the Veela blood, the Werewolf blood and a healthy dose of the Weasley temperament their children were turning out to be quite the spitfires. Percy had married a nice woman named Audrey who worked on the same floor as he did at the Ministry. Ron was the only other unmarried sibling he had, but that was probably going to change soon. There was currently a betting pool going between Charlie, Ginny, George, and Bill as to how much longer it would take before he proposed to Luna whom he had been dating for the last year and a half.

Charlie had dated on and off over the years, but never anything serious. He was content to work at the reserve and be Cool Uncle Charlie to the various nieces and nephews his siblings gave him. So the thought that Hermione Granger was The One was rather startling to him. Apparently it startled Winston as well as his eyebrows shot skyward and he rocked back on his heels.

"Really now? I thought you just met her?"

"Well I've known her since she was eleven, but it wasn't until now that I've had any time to spend with her. Now that I have I think I'm falling in love with her."

"All the more reason to tell her."

Charlie finally threw his hands up in surrender, "Alright, I'll do something about it. Now I thought I came back here to see about some books, not relationship advice."

"Alright, I'll stop pestering you about it now, but I better hear everything about it later though," Winston said heaving a box up onto the desk.

"You will, don't worry. If for no other reason than I may have to send you a thank you card." Winston grinned as Charlie contemplated how he was going to pull this off.

**_A/N: Told you it was long. Sorry if it was a bit repetitive, I just couldn't figure out a way that it would work well, unless you had overlapping POVs. So what did you think? Who do you think should make the first move? Let me know. ~ Naomi_**

**_PS: I am loving the response this story is getting. Thanks for everyone who has read and reviewed so far!_**


	3. Testing the Waters pt 2

**A/N: I told myself I would do two updates today and I actually did! Although technically it's two in the morning here, but it's one day back home. I had so much fun writing this chapter. DISCLAIMER: Any thing, one, or place you may recognize belongs solely to JK Rowling. Enjoy!**

**Hermione**

Hermione was in heaven. There was nothing she loved more than a bookstore. There were so many possibilities, so much knowledge to be gained waiting for her on the shelves. She had never understood how people could get by in life without reading everything they could their hands on. Winston had quite the collection. She was currently immersed in the folklore and legend section. This was an excellent source of finding out about early practices and applications of magic. Muggles often accounted it to evil powers or possession or a supernatural gift, but it was just plain and simple magic. It always fascinated Hermione to study how Muggles viewed magic. She could see why it was necessary to keep the Wizarding World a secret.

She was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her back against a bookshelf, completely absorbed in a tale about a local ghost and all the things that happened around the house it haunted when she was startled by someone clearing their throat. Hermione jumped and looked up to see Charlie standing there looking at her.

He grinned, "That didn't take very long for you to get lost in a book."

Hermione closed the book and put it back on the shelf, rubbing the back of her neck where it was stiff from leaning against the bookshelf. "It usually doesn't. How long have you been standing there?"

"About twenty minutes. It's very entertaining to watch you read," he said shifting the stack of books he was holding and offered a hand to help her up. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

He pulled her up with enough force that she stumbled when she got her feet under her and found herself pressed against him, his face mere inches from hers. Merlin, he truly did have the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Hermione found her heart pounding as neither of them moved. They seemed to have been turned to statues. His hand was warm where it rested on her arm just below her shoulder where he had reached out to steady her. The other was still holding the books. His startled expression mirrored her own.

Time seemed to stop as Hermione saw his eyes search hers before dropping to her lips. Her breath caught as his head began to lower towards hers. Their lips were nearly touching when a noise from behind them caused them to jump apart. Winston stood there, the source of the sound had come from the stack of books he had accidentally knocked over.

"Please, don't let me interrupt you two," he said righting the pile of books before back towards the front of the shop.

Hermione looked at Charlie, her face beet red. A million different things were running through her mind. What had just happened? Did Charlie Weasley really just try to kiss her?

Charlie was standing there, his face almost as red as hers. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to the man. She just never thought, in a million years that a man like him would be attracted to a woman like her.

"Hermione," he began. Hermione silenced him, taking a wild chance and pulling him to her and planting her lips firmly on his.

**Charlie**

Charlie had found himself entranced by Hermione's face when she had stumbled against him. When had his brother's bookish friend become so beautiful. He had nearly kissed her before Winston interrupted them.

Now Charlie was watching Hermione, trying to gauge her reaction. Did she like him that way? Had he overstepped some line? He was trying to decipher her face, but she was nearly as unreadable as his ancient runes textbook.

Deciding he ought to say something, he only managed her name before she completely shocked him by the grabbing the lapels of his jacket and pulling him to her, planting her lips on his.

Charlie dropped the books he was holding and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him. He had never known anyone who fit so perfectly against him. She threw her arms around his neck and ran one hand through his shaggy hair as he returned the kiss.

To Charlie the kiss seemed to last forever before they broke apart, both of their breathing labored. Charlie smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.

"I like you Hermione Granger," he whispered.

She turned a charming shade of pink as she laughed, "Then I guess it's a good thing I like you too, otherwise this might be a very awkward situation."

Charlie laughed before kissing the tip of her nose and reluctantly letting her go. She helped him collect the books that he had dropped. He watched her note the titles curiously.

"Can you read Chinese?" she asked him, holding up a copy of a book about Chinese dragon legends.

"Most dragon tamers can. The Chinese are some of the foremost dragon experts in the world. Some of the reserves they have make ours look like a hovel." Hermione looked surprised as they stood.

"Are there any other languages that you speak?"

"Let's see, Romanian obviously, Bulgarian since we're pretty close to the border, Chinese, Arabic-the desert is prime place for dragons-some Greek and Serbian, and Spanish. I know everyone thinks I'm all brawn and no brains," he said seeing Hermione's jaw practically on the floor. She blushed again. She was beautiful when she blushed.

Hermione closed her mouth, "It's not that, it's just that I've never met anyone who knew so many different languages, some of those are really difficult. I'm impressed." This time it was Charlie who blushed.

"Thanks," he said taking the books from her. Their hands brushed as he took the books from her and they both grinned at each other.

"Come on, let's go pay for these." Charlie led the way back to the front of the shop where Winston greeted him with a knowing smirk, which Charlie ignored. He was extremely aware of how closely Hermione was standing behind him. He paid for his books and Winston wrapped them up for him, handing the bag to Charlie.

"Thank you," Charlie said, putting an emphasis behind his words. Winston caught his double meaning and grinned. "My pleasure. You two have a good day," he called after them as they left, throwing a conspiratorial wink at Charlie. He merely rolled his eyes, glad Hermione was already outside.

"I'll see you later Winston." The sound of the man's booming laughter followed Charlie out the door.

**Hermione**

Kissing Charlie Weasley certainly hadn't been on Hermione's list of things to do while she was on vacation, but life had a way of changing your plans. This time it was a very welcome change. Hermione blushed again as she thought of the kiss while Charlie was paying for his books. He was a very good kisser. It had been tender, yet slightly demanding. Having his arms around her had felt every bit as good as Hermione had imagined it would. Even through beneath his jacket and jumper she could feel the hard, taut muscles pressed against her as his arms pulled her closer. The kiss seemed to last forever until both of them surfaced for air. Hermione smiled as Charlie settled up with Winston. If someone had told her last week that she would be kissing Charlie Weasley she would have laughed at them.

"You two have a good day," Winston called after them as they left. Charlie joined her out on the street, making her blush when he took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

"So where to next?" she asked, grinning up at him. She was incredibly happy right now.

Charlie grinned back at her, "Next we have lunch on our agenda. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Hermione realized that they had spent nearly three hours in the bookshop. Despite having eaten quite a few pancakes this morning, she was actually hungry.

"Sounds good, where's this pub you were telling me about earlier?" she asked as they started walking.

"It's just down the road a ways."

"Alright, lead the way." Charlie tightened his grip on her hand as they walked down the road. Again Hermione was amazed at how natural it felt walking hand-in-hand with Charlie. It was like they were made for each other. She had never put much stock in other girls' talk of true love and soul mates, but now she was beginning to wonder if maybe there was some merit to these ideas after all.

Hermione mentally slapped herself. What was she doing thinking about true love and soul mates with a man she only really just met? True the feeling was definitely mutual and they had shared one of the best kisses of Hermione's life, but that was it. That wasn't really enough to go off of in a relationship. Ever the logical witch, Hermione was trying to rationalize matters of the heart and failing miserably as her heart wasn't having anything to do with it. Hermione finally gave in and acknowledged the truth. She had well and truly fallen for Charlie Weasley, logic and reason be damned.

They had lunch at a pub called The Speckled Hen where they talked about what they had been doing over the last few years and grinned idiotically at each other. Hermione had seen many of the women in the pub glancing enviously at her. She smiled to herself, wondering how she had gotten so lucky. They stayed at the pub for an hour chatting over lunch. Now they were standing outside again after paying for their meal.

"So what's the plan Charlie?" Hermione asked him, linking her arm through his.

"Well, the next stop is the market so that I can buy supplies for our first official date tonight," he told her with that gorgeous smile of his playing on his lips.

"Oh, and what makes you think I want to go out with you tonight?" she asked him coyly. "Maybe I have other plans."

He looked at her with an arched eyebrow, "Oh, I know you want to go out with me, and besides what could be more important than spending time with me?"

Hermione pondered it for a moment, "I honestly can't think of anything at the moment. What are we doing for our first official date?" She loved the way that sounded, especially since she was saying that to Charlie. Merlin, she was completely besotted with the man.

Charlie laughed, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"I'm not much of one for surprises."

"I don't know, for someone who isn't much for surprises you sure are full of them. I promise, you'll like this one." Hermione was wondering what it could be when Charlie took that moment to lean down and kiss her once more and her mind went completely blank.

**A/N: I love writing this pair, it's so much fun. The first move has been made! Was it who you thought it would be? What did you think? As always leave me a message after this note~Naomi**


	4. Testing the Waters Pt 3

**A/N: Wow two updates on two different stories in just as many days. It's so good to be back in the swing of things again. :) Here's the part you have all probably been waiting for. This is the last piece of the first day. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: Any thing, one, or place that you may recognize belongs solely to JK Rowling.**

**Hermione**

Hermione was sitting on the sofa in the sitting room of the Burrow reading a book, seeing the words on the page but not really paying them much attention for once. Her mind was more on the noises and smells coming from the kitchen. When they had come back to the house after running their errands in town, Charlie had installed her on the sofa with strict instructions that she was not leave the room until she was called for. Hermione found this was becoming more and more difficult as the smells became more tantalizing and her curiosity was becoming increasingly harder to repress.

Charlie had told her earlier that he was going to be making dinner for the two of them, but no matter how much she questioned him, he wouldn't tell her anything else about tonight. She tried to guess at what he was making by looking at what he was buying in the store, but it had been such an eclectic mix of things that she couldn't even begin to imagine what it could be and it was driving her crazy.

Hermione finally put the book down, giving up on reading altogether. She leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes, trying to single out the different smells and figure out what they were. She could identify at least three types of peppers, pineapple, cinnamon, something that could be pork, and a whole host of other smells that she could identify no matter how hard she tried.

Ten minutes later, Charlie finally stepped into the room. He laughed when he saw her expression.

"Are you through torturing me already?" she asked him.

"Yes, I'm done torturing you," he said walking over to the sofa. She took his proffered hand and he pulled her to her feet, this time intentionally using too much force so that she was flush against him for the second time that day. His hands came to rest on her waist so she couldn't pull away, not she seemed to want to.

"You did that on purpose," she stated looking at him.

He brought one hand up to tuck an errant strand of hair back behind her ear, "Yes, I did. So that way I could do this." He leaned down and kissed her, one hand on her waist while the other tangled in her hair. Hermione sank into him, her hands coming around to rest on the broad expanse of his back. She let out a disappointed sigh when he pulled away and he chuckled.

"Are you ready for your surprise?"

"Yes, I've only been dying from my curiosity for the last two hours."

He smiled, that amazingly sexy smile of his. "You have to close your eyes first."

"Really?"

"Yes really. Trust me. I won't let you run into any walls or such…maybe."

"Oh yes, that's very reassuring," she said, but closed her eyes anyways. He pulled her through the house, leading her by her hand. She heard a door open and then felt grass under her bare feet. Her brow scrunched in confusion.

"Don't open your eyes yet," he told her, as if sensing her urge to do just that.

Hermione sighed, but kept them shut. She was wondering why it wasn't freezing outside, especially when it was the middle of winter. He led her around the corner before they came to a stop.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

She heard him chuckle. "Yes, you can open your eyes now."

Hermione opened her eyes and gasped.

**Charlie**

Charlie was excited to see what Hermione's reaction would be to what he had prepared for them. He had been thinking about what he wanted to do all afternoon while they had finished running their errands. When they got back to the Burrow he had installed Hermione in the sitting room with strict instructions to stay there until she was called for. Now he was finally ready to reveal his surprise.

He knew he had done the right thing when he saw her reaction. Her eyes had flown open and she had clapped her hands together over her mouth as she gasped in delight.

"Charlie, it's wonderful!" she said taking it all in.

He just grinned at her delight. He wondered how long it would take her to figure out they never actually left the house. He had charmed the study of the Burrow with an illusory charm to look like an early spring meadow at twilight complete with a tree hung with gaily painted paper lanterns and a picnic spread out amongst the wildflowers. He had modeled after a place that he knew of that was near the dragon reserve where he worked.

Hermione turned to him from where she was standing by the blanket. "We never left the house did we?"

Charlie crossed his arms over his chest and grinned at her, "Nope."

"Charlie this is some seriously impressive illusory work," she said looking at him with a mix of surprise and respect.

"Being pretty handy with illusions and the like is a rather helpful skill to have when you have my job. There is more than just air up here you know," he teased, tapping a finger on the side of his head.

She blushed, "I know, I'm just surprised is all." She crossed back to where he stood. "It's not every day that you see this kind of charm work first hand, and it's certainly not every day when this level of magic is used just for you."

He looked down at where she was standing in front of him, studying her expressive face with its faint dash of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She looked back at him with those gorgeous brown eyes of hers. "You're certainly worth it," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. Hermione once again blushed as she met his earnest gaze. She really was quite charming when she blushed, Charlie mused not for the first time.

"Come on, let's eat before all the food gets cold." He pulled her over to the meal set out on the blanket. They both sat and he began taking lids off of the pots and pans that sat on the low wooden table he had transfigured out of a cushion.

There was pork loin, sliced and sautéed with pineapples and red peppers in a sweet and sour style sauce, a bowl of mashed potatoes with garlic and the skins still attached, asparagus oven roasted in rosemary, basil, and olive oil and a basket of still warm crescent rolls. For desert there was a stunning apple pie.

"When you cook, you don't' mess around do you?" she said taking everything in with an amused smile.

Charlie simply shrugged as he grabbed the two plates he had brought in. He began dishing the food out onto the plates and handed one to her.

"It smells amazing."

"It's a favorite recipe on the Reserve, probably because it has a nice spicy edge to it; we do love our fire after all. I guess you could call it my signature dish."

Hermione crooked an eyebrow at him, "You're signature dish? Well then."

Charlie glanced at her as he pulled out a bottle of red wine. "What?"

"Nothing, just that that sounds very fancy," she commented. He popped the cork out of the neck of the bottle and poured a glass of wine for each of them.

He handed one to her with a flourish. "I'm a fancy kind of guy."

She laughed as she took the glass from him. He loved the way she laughed with her head tilted back a little and how her whole face was involved in the task. It was beautiful just like the rest of her. A faint breeze blew through the meadow and a strand of her curly brown hair trailed in the wind.

She raised her glass to him, "I propose a toast."

He settled back onto the blanket and took up his own glass. "What are we toasting to?"

She thought for a moment before answering, "A new adventure."

"I can drink to that," he said grinning and raising his glass to hers.

"To a new adventure."

**Hermione**

Hermione had to admit that this had to be the best date she had ever been on. Before this weekend she would have never pegged Charlie Weasley as being such a romantic. He had really pulled out all the stops.

She loved the way she felt with him. It was perhaps the happiest she had been since the war ended. Sure, she'd been happy, but this was a whole different level of happiness. He had completely blown her away with the charm and illusion work of the meadow scene. She had never seen anything on that level before with the exception of the Room of Requirement back at Hogwarts. She really felt like she was outside on a cool spring evening rather than still in the Burrow in the middle of winter.

They had finished with desert and were simply lounging against a nearby tree, enjoying each other's company. Hermione was curled against Charlie's side with her head resting on his chest just above his heart. He had one arm wrapped around her, his thumb idly tracing light circles on her arm. His other hand was entwined in hers, resting on his stomach. Hermione was completely relaxed as she watched their hands rise and falls with each breath he took. It was as if she had found a piece of herself that she didn't know she had been missing until she found it.

"Did you model this off of somewhere you've been?" she asked after a while.

"I did. There's a place very similar to this in the hills just outside of the dragon reserve. It's a favorite spot of mine to go to if I ever need to think or just get some peace and quiet." Hermione liked listening to the rumble of his voice pressed up against her ear.

"What's it like, living on a dragon reserve?"

She felt him shrug as the muscular arm wrapped around her shoulders shifted. "It's like nothing else I've ever experienced. Every day is a new day. Sure you have your set routines and duties, but beyond that you never know what to expect, which is a good thing. You get complacent and let your guard down with these guys and you could get seriously injured or worse."

"Sounds dangerous," Hermione commented, moving her head to look up at him.

"It is, but really no job if without its own risks. Of course, there are some riskier than others. We Weasley children, with possibly the exception of Percy, seem to be drawn to dangerous jobs that will send our mother prematurely gray. Honestly though, I wouldn't trade my job for the world, even on the bad days. There's something about the dragons that just resonates with me.

"I've seen them try to roast my friends. I've seen them try to kill each other. I've seen them go from docile to hostile so fast that it's too late for anyone near them to get away. But I've also seen them guide a blind brethren to shelter in a storm. I've seen the tenderness with which they treat their young. I've seen them play tag with the other keepers when they're in the air and even play it with other dragons. I've even seem them break through the shell and stretch their wings for the first time. They are truly some of the most remarkable creatures in the world and I thank Merlin every day that I'm lucky enough to get to work with them for a living."

Hermione smiled at the passion that had crept into his voice as he spoke. It seemed as if every fiber of his being was put to use in explaining these things to her.

"Sounds like you enjoy it."

Charlie looked at her and nodded. "I really do, much to my mother's constant dismay."

She chuckled remembering Mrs. Weasley's many attempts over the years to try and convince her second eldest son to give up his dragons and come back to England, especially every time he came home with a new burn or scar.

"What about you? What's it like being Hermione Granger?"

She shrugged, moving closer to him. "It's not that exciting I'm afraid. I work as a paralegal in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Having only been there for only two years after going back to school to complete my seventh year, I don't handle any of the big cases. Mostly I seem to be a research and paperwork lackey for the bigger attorneys. It's interesting enough though, I always love learning and it gives me valuable insight into how the process works for when I do get to handle some of the bigger cases. A lot of people ask me why someone with my brains and talent is in such a position when almost any job is mine for the asking. The first answer that I give is that I want to get a job or promotion because I earned it, not because I have the right name or the right connections. The second reason is that I want to help people who have been wrongly accused of a crime that they did not commit, which happens a lot more often than you might think. I want to help the Siriuses and Buckbeaks of the world. Is that such a bad thing?"

"No, absolutely not. I think it's wonderful actually."

Hermione gave him a radiant smile, "Thank you Charlie." She snuggled back down next to him and he tenderly kissed the top of her head, moving his hand so that his fingers could trail through her hair. They sat there for another hour, talking more about their lives and getting to know each other before Hermione yawned and Charlie declared it was probably time to call it a night. Hermione reluctantly nodded and untangled herself from Charlie. She stood only to take a few stumbling steps as she realized that the lower halves of her legs were completely asleep. She probably would have fallen flat on her face had Charlie not been there to catch her again.

He chucked as he set her back upright, "Am I knocking you off your feet Granger?"

"I think you're doing it on purpose."

"That's the idea isn't it? Then I can play the gallant rescuer of the beautiful girl and whisk her away into the sunset." Hermione smiled. The mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes was infectious.

"Well you're mistaken if you think your whisking me away anywhere Charlie Weasley."

He crooked an eyebrow at her, "Is that a challenge Ms. Granger?"

She just shrugged. "Maybe it is. What are you going to do about it?"

"This." Before she could ask what he meant by that, he had walked up to her and casually tossed her over his shoulder. Hermione shrieked as her chest thumped against her back.

"Charlie, what are you doing?!" She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Whisking you away of course."

Hermione laughed and fought half-heartedly as he carried her out of the enchanted room.

**Charlie**

Charlie laughed uproariously as he carried Hermione from the enchanted room. She was putting up a very half-hearted fight, hindered by the fact that she was laughing every bit as hard as he was. He finally set her down at the foot of the stairs that led to the upper levels of the house.

Hermione slapped him, trying to be angry. "Don't ever do that to me ever again." She huffed and turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. Charlie grinned. This was a new flirtatious and playful side he was seeing of Hermione. He liked it. He came up to her and slipped his arms around her waist from behind.

She tried to pull away, but softened after a moment and leaned back against him. Charlie pressed his nose into her hair. She smelled of lavender and chamomile. It was a pleasant and soothing combination that was so Hermione he had to smile.

He was about to say something when there was a sudden and familiar tugging sensation behind his navel and the world spun as his feet left the ground. A second later his shoes smacked back to earth on the seventh floor landing. He threw out an arm to catch himself before he fell on his face.

"Would you give me a little more warning the next time you decide to do that?" he said as she turned in his arms to face him.

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

"Fair enough." She looked up at him as they lapsed into silence.

They were standing outside her door, but Hermione wasn't making any effort at disentangling herself from his arms. She rested her petite hands on his shoulders and her fingers played with the collar of his shirt in a way that made it hard for him to concentrate. She truly was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He wondered how it had taken so long for him to notice this about her.

"I don't really want to say goodnight. I've had such a wonderful evening and I don't want it to end."

Charlie grinned. "Well it seems that you're in luck then, because I plan on there being many, many more nights like this," he said as he drew her close. She tilted her head up to say something, but Charlie claimed her lips with a tender kiss. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt to pull him closer. Before she could deepen the kiss, however, he pulled back. If he went any further than that he didn't know if he would be able to just leave it at kissing her. Sure things were moving pretty fast, but taking that next step on their first official date was going a little too fast, especially since he really wanted to get this right. Hermione wasn't one of his casual flings. She was different from the other girls he had been with. He looked down at her and had to choke back a laugh at her disappointed expression. He kissed the top of her head before letting her go.

"Goodnight Hermione. I'll see you in the morning."

She smiled softly. "Night Charlie, thank you for the wonderful evening. You really didn't have to go through all that trouble though. A simple dinner would have been enough."

He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You're worth it, besides no man can resist the opportunity to show off for a pretty girl."

He chuckled as she blushed before opening her door and waving goodnight. Charlie smiled to himself as he went down one level to his own room. This had certain been a perfect first evening together and if things went his way, it would be the first of many.

**A/N: As always I would love to know what you think. Leave me a message after this note. Thanks!~Naomi**


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